Louis Walsh has revealed the shocking time he sensationalised a plane crash involving Boyzone and forgot to tell their families in explosive new documentary Boyzone: No Matter What
Former music mogul Louis Walsh has shockingly admitted to faking a plane crash when manager of Boyzone.
The former X Factor judge has revealed that he leaked a number of false stories about the Irish boyband in a bid to get them more publicity. One such lie was a plane crash, telling the press that the group – made up of Ronan Keating, Shane Lynch, Keith Duffy, Stephen Gately and Mikey Graham – had survived the terrifying ordeal.
In an explosive new documentary about the group titled Boyzone: No Matter What, the 72-year-old’s actions are revealed to the viewers. He was described in the programme as being the ‘master puppeteer of the press’.
In a new trailer for the show, Louis is heard saying: “Sometimes, the boys would read stories in the papers about themselves that weren’t true and they’d say ‘Who told them that?’ I did! I told them.”
Frontman Ronan is then seen explaining: “He believed any story was a good story. He would make up stories constantly about the band, about relationships with girlfriends that were non-existent.”
In his extravagant false plane crash story, Louis even confessed he forgot to tell the families of the singers before leaking the fake news. “There was no plane crash, but it got a good story,” he admitted.
Despite spreading lies, Louis said that he never felt guilty and just saw it as a way to gain publicity. “I was doing my job,” he said. “But I would do it all again, yeah. Absolutely. I’d do it even more now.”
Louis’ lies are said to have had an effect on the group. Ronan claimed his actions were “hugely scarring”. Speaking in 2023, Ronan explained how Louis blew the plane crash story way out of proportion. He told Magic FM at the time: “We were in Australia doing a promotional tour. We took a plane to a place called Broken Hill, in the middle of Australia.
“One of the engines failed on the plane and we had to make an emergency landing in the outback. It was totally fine, it wasn’t like ‘We’re going down!’ or anything. These plans can fly with one engine.”
He went on: “‘In the meantime, Louis Walsh gets wind that one of the planes, one of the engines had, you know, and he goes straight to the press and he tells the press, “Boys in dramatic plane crash!”
“We hadn’t had time to tell our parents that this had happened. We were fine, we didn’t think anything of it. My mother was up the wall, she thought ‘Oh my son!’ Everything all kicking off big time, where you had to get on the phones and tell them everything’s grand.”
The documentary, which will air on Sky, will examine the group’s legacy, success and tragedy. It will feature exclusive interviews, backstage footage and discover the sudden death of Stephen Gately.
A synopsis for the documentary states: “They were one of the most successful and iconic boybands of all time but behind-the-scenes, conflict and rivalry, betrayal and tragedy led to their falling apart.
“Now, thirty years on, all four remaining members – Ronan Keating, Keith Duffy, Shane Lynch and Michael ‘Mikey’ Graham, as well as their estranged manager, Louis Walsh reveal the truth of what really happened, the extraordinary highs of their meteoric rise to fame, and the huge costs that being in a boyband had on each of them.”
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